'... this is it. The 1,507th realm is my current limit.'
Around noon, Theodore opened his eyes, ending the day's cultivation session. As he knew that he would encounter the city's top combat powers soon, he chose to invest nearly four hours today into becoming more than strong enough to deal with any potential issues.
Yesterday, he had reached the 1,113th realm, making 375 realms worth of progress. However, today, despite almost taking double the time, he 'only' improved by 394 instead.
'Even my lowest Standard Attribute is now above 16,600–considering the Talents that I can make use of, it should be impossible for me to come to harm now.'
Confident in his chances, he rose to his feet and made his way over to the tunnel which he had been busying himself with during the past couple of days. In a few more hours at most, he should arrive at his goal!
Shortly before he made it there, however, he encountered a bit of a surprise. Amidst his digging, he stumbled across an ornate metal pillar brimming with Energy, evidently connected to others of its kind nearby.
'Huh, interesting. Considering that they are the rulers of this place, I didn't expect the Hans to also employ Alarm, Isolation and Concealment Arrays. There is even a bit of a Divination Deflection Array–but its quality is horrendous. Still, they definitely have to be keeping a secret here. Looks like I might have stumbled across a small jackpot!'
Rejoicing at this discovery, he very carefully navigated around the Arrays' intricacies, ensuring that he would not be detected in any way. If it hadn't been for his Proficiency in this field of study, this would have been utterly impossible to achieve. Fortunately, his preparations were thorough enough.
To be fair, any Named Family would force their descendants to study the topic of Array Formation, so most Heaven's Chosen could deal with such basic Arrays–Theodore was merely a significant bit ahead of them in this regard.
Minutes later, he found himself standing outside a wall almost entirely covered in Array patterns. Even for him, it would have been hopeless to make it past it without damaging the Array–at least in his current state, where he could not yet directly utilize Energy himself.
'Fortunately, I can teleport.'
Mentally preparing himself, just in case someone was currently making use of this hidden cultivation chamber, he made sure to double-check the thickness of the wall at a tiny spot which wouldn't interfere with the Array. Then, without further hesitation, he activated his Intraworld Teleportation Talent.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the wall.
Han Junqiao had only recently left her latest medicinal bath. Eating the lunch which she had prepared for herself prior to her morning cultivation session, she was clad in nothing but her favourite bathrobe. Very rarely did she wear anything other than it, or her pyjamas.
Considering this, she should have felt fortunate that when the only ever guest to her home who was not her mother or father arrived, she wasn't entirely au naturel.
"Who are you?! How did you get in here?"
With her perception as considerably advanced as it was, it was no wonder that the exact moment when Theodore appeared at the edge of her home, she instantly noticed him. Eyeing him carefully, she jumped to her feet and guarded herself against any abrupt movements which he might make. Although she had never faced an enemy before, she could instinctively feel the extreme danger that this gorgeous man exuded! Their physique-related Attributes appeared to be roughly on par, yet being aware of this didn't bless her with even an ounce of relief.
For a moment, the unknown intruder raised an eyebrow and scrutinized her, then his wariness seemed to disappear, an intrigued smile gracing his lips. It felt as if he was observing an unusual museum exhibit rather than a living person.
"You're not too shabby, and quite different from the rest of your family. There is no inherent air of haughtiness and hubris, only a noble quality. Interesting, interesting."
Completely ignoring her questions, he muttered to himself as if she wasn't around in the first place, making an uncomfortable, cold shiver run down her spine.
'I need to escape! He should be a Heaven's Chosen–and a powerful one at that.'
Before she could act upon her thoughts, however, to her horror, the young man had suddenly appeared at her side and grabbed her hand, a cold, calculative gaze piercing her. It felt as if every single one of her secrets was laid bare in front of him, as if she couldn't possibly hide!
'Wait, where am I?!'
When she snapped out of it, she noticed a breeze playing with her wet hair and unfamiliar scents entering her nose. Far above her, there was a bright light, causing her to squint. After the initial confusion faded away, she recognized that this had to be the somewhere on the surface. Unfortunately, now wasn't the right time to rejoice at this change of scenery which she had always wished for.
'This seems to be a spot in the middle of the wilderness. Even if I make some noise, it won't do me any good. Escaping won't work either! If I mess up, I'll provoke this guy. Let's try to play it safe for now...'
After having quickly analysed the circumstances that she found herself in, Han Junqiao fell to her knees, an obedient, pleading look in her eyes. She didn't dare to ask any more questions, afraid that doing so would spell her doom.
"Please, don't kill me!"
Further intrigued by her atypical reaction, the smile on Theodore's lips widened. He had encountered quite a few Imperial Han Family members during his illusory lives, and none of them had even remotely behaved like this one. It felt as if whatever contaminating effect that the 'Divine Dragon''s bloodline usually had on them had been wiped away, leaving only the benefits.
'Considering her peculiarity, as well as the fact that she appears to be at the peak of the Energy Refinement Stage, there is a chance that she is a Heaven's Chosen. In other words, whether she'll gift me a good Talent or work for me in the future depends on her performance.'
Squatting in front of her, he appeared casual, yet he was constantly ready to snuff out her life at the slightest hint of danger. Staring directly into her eyes for a prolonged period of time, he eventually spoke up.
"Tell me, why should I spare your life?"
As this was the most likely question to be asked, she had already prepared an answer. It remained to be seen whether or not it was good enough, though.
"I can work for you! That way, you'll still get the Heaven's Chosen Level! Whatever you ask of me, I'll do it."
Tilting his head slightly, an amused smirk stole itself on Theodore's lips.
"But what if I'm not after your Heaven's Chosen Level? What if killing others strengthens me?"
As these words entered her ears, her eyes widened in shock, then she froze, an extremely terrifying realization flashing through her mind.
'Everyone in this world will die! This man, he's practically the devil!'
Paling to an intensely unhealthy degree, she began to shiver, tears welling up at the corners of her eyes. Doing her absolute best to keep as calm as she possibly could, she chose to reply.
"I... umm... I can still be useful to you! During the Heavenly Succession, there will definitely be times where you could need someone to do odd jobs for you. An additional pair of hands will come in handy, I'm certain! In the long run, it won't be a bad deal!"
When she saw him nod, the terrifying grip that this situation had on her heart loosened a little, but the words which he responded with yet again overwhelmed her with terror.
"You're not wrong about that. Still, even if I allow you to survive, I won't spare your family. They're a plague upon this world to begin with–nobody other than you will miss them. You'd have to serve the one responsible for the deaths of your loved ones. Do you really think you can do that?"
There was so much about his statement which thrust her straight into the depths of despair, yet one part of it stuck out like a sore thumb, rubbing her the wrong way to the extent that she chose to throw caution to the wind. At this point, it was extremely unlikely that she would continue to live anyway, so why bother!?
"You're wrong! My family is very kind!! Why do you have to insult them like that!?"
Initially, he thought that he had misheard her–after all, how delusional would one have to be to describe the Imperial Han Family as kind? But then, when he combined her words with the inexperience and innocence that he saw in her eyes, plus the fact that she had been in a hidden chamber underground...
"You don't know, do you? You've never left that room, haven't you?"
Taken aback by his reaction, she suddenly thought of a possibility that threatened to shatter her entire worldview. The moment that the suspicion took root, it was impossible to get rid of it or ignore it.
"I... yes. I've been there... ever since I could remember."
Sighing to himself, Theodore shook his head, then he reached out his hand and offered it to her.
"Call it pity, or call it cruelty. Take my hand and I will show you the truth. But keep in mind–if you resist or make trouble, I will instantly end your miserable existence."
Maybe it was out of a desire to prove him wrong–no matter how unlikely doing that might be–or because she genuinely wanted to know. Nonetheless, in the end, after quite a bit of internal struggle, she did take him up on his offer.
Minutes later, the two of them had changed into unremarkable clothes and concealed themselves, teleporting from one hidden corner of Huizhong City to the next. Even the Inner City, which Theodore had not probed before due to a lack of power at the time, did not escape the two's scrutiny.
There was nothing much that he had to do, other than keep her quiet and let them stay out of sight. He didn't have to arrange for something in particular to play out–the dreadfulness of reality itself did all the work for him.
To a sheltered young woman like Han Junqiao, who had barely even heard about anything that could be considered to be 'evil', what she was confronted with today was worse than the most depraved hell which she could have ever imagined!
It was almost impossible for her to not become aware of the identities of the perpetrators of these acts, considering how much they flaunted their status and family background. Her own relatives, as well as their lackeys, were responsible for spreading untold amounts of suffering. What her captor had claimed was undoubtedly true: Nobody would ever miss them!
When she was faced with the slave collections of her own father, mother and siblings–they all had their own personal ones–she finally lost the last bits of hope in her heart. No matter how much she wanted to close her eyes to what she had just witnessed, she simply couldn't.
'They're... rotten to the core.'
As if she had lost her soul, she simply stood there, completely unresponsive. Even when Theodore teleported her back to that spot in the wilderness, she didn't move at all. Due to her own choice, everything was different now. She would never be able to think about her loved ones in the same way again. Ignorance truly was bliss.
It could have been minutes, or hours, but eventually, she looked at the one who had turned her life upside down. She was aware that she would have inevitably found out about all of this in the future. At that time, she might have got eased into the revelation step by step, so as to not shock her too much all at once. But even then, she knew that she never would have forgiven her family for the atrocities that they were constantly committing.
In comparison, this murderous man–oddly enough–didn't seem all that horrible. After all, in contrast, the taking of life alone felt harmless, and even like a just act. Had she been in his shoes and encountered herself, a descendant of the Imperial Han Family... she very likely would have instantly chosen to kill. Yet, he had recognized that she was different.
'Was it luck of misfortune that caused our paths to cross? It's hard to tell.'